I just purchased a pro angler. Now I just have to figure out how to carry it. For my wife's Nissan Armada, this will be no problem, but I drive a VW Passat with no roof rack, and will most likely be using my car to transport it. Has anyone found a solution for cars that do not have a factory installed roof rack? I prefer NOT to install a permanent rack if I can get away without one. While searching around, I found this foam-block system. I'm hoping someone from hobie, or someone with a similar situation who has first-hand experience wouldn't mind weighing in on solutions like the one in the link below :

I use Yakima Mako saddles on my racks and I have the foam in the middle of the racks as the PA is so heavy sometimes the Mako saddles are squished so much the PA will make contact with the foam. I also use the foam on top of the PA to set a Hobie Outback on for transport. you would need three pieces of foam as the back of the PA has a "w" shape to it. the foam will probably rub the paint off your car and the PA may even be heavy enough to dent the top of your car.

Wow...it might bend the roof!?!? That's quite scary...I guess I just assumed a car roof could support 100lbs. Sounds like I'm gonna have to do a roof rack if I'm serious about this, plus these foam blocks. Thanks so much for the advice atavuss.

I can tell you now that your roof cannot support the 135lbs of the Hobie PA. Maybe a few pounds less without the mirage drive but even still that won't make a difference. Get yourself a THULE or Yakima rack for your car and you will be happy. I have the THULE on mine and personally I think it gives it a sporty look. I made sure that I did not get bars so long they stick out past my car and it looks great IMO. From there you can use a few different saddle sets to try and find what works best for you, or Hobie sells a cradle set made specifically for your PA. If I am not mistaken my THULE rack will hold 165 lbs...don't quote me on that one though.

Thanks all for the advice. I bit the bullet and bought a Yakima rack system with the Hully Rollers and Mako saddles. I like that I'll be able to remove the rack when not in use. The rack comes tomorrow, and I pick up the yak Saturday. Now all I have to do is figure out a way to store the thing in my garage :-p

Here is a link to another site showing how I hang my PA from the ceiling in my garage. It's a little heavy and I'm a little lazy...thus the winch!!

Lemme know what ya think. Oh and over a month hanging...hasn't fallen...YET!!! Make sure you find the rafters to anchor too or you will wind up with a PA on the floor!

Wow, that is genius!!! Here's an update: I picked up the kayak yesterday. The Yakima rack w/ the hully rollers and mako saddles worked awesome. I was able to get it on and off the car with no problem. I just ordered a pully/hoist system tonight from Amazon. Supposedly it's rated for 140 lbs. You've got me thinking though...the winch w/ the remote is just a brilliant idea. I have to ask: looking at your pictures, I couldn't tell what purpose that board was serving that you have over the boat. Could you explain? Thanks!

The board in the middle over the boat itself is what is actually holding the boat up. I have a total of 8 connection points on there...2 of which are for pullies and the other six are in 3 sets of 2. I have ratchet straps connected to these and I wrap them around the kayak and attach to the opposing eyelet. From there I can ratchet each strap individually to allow me to balance out the weight. This way I do not have too much weight on the front, back or middle...its evenly across. I used the foam pads to tray and distribute the weight a bit more and prevent "oil-canning" on the sides of the yak. It already cam with one spot I will be popping out here shortly when I bought it. I found that the straps work best for me because I could cut pre-determined lengths of nylon for each section, but then I would have to make sure I secure they kayak in the same spot every time. This way If I am off a little bit front to back I always have a custom fit.

Just a bit of warning here...your PA weighs 135 pounds dry. If you leave any extra gear in it when you go to raise it you may be stressing that lift system. Also one last thought...since I never gave it a try manually...tell me how heavy that bad boy is to pull up by hand!!! I was curious, but decided that the winch was just better than finding out!

Thanks SinkingShip. As far as the weight goes, I figured I'd always pull out the mirage drive, paddles, etc. from the boat before hoisting it up to keep the weight down. I assumed (and I'm really really hoping that was right) that the "138 lbs. fully rigged" meant with paddle, mirage drive, etc. While it's not SUPER convenient, if I'm nervous about weight I suppose I could pull the seat off, or follow your lead and add more eye bolts to the ceiling joists and use ratchet-straps for additional support.